My Love Stories
by whattup'penguin
Summary: Told in the viewpoint of Nami, we enter her world and understand the feelings of a nerdy bookworm when she experiences the different levels of a complex feeling: Love. From a simple crush, to a temporary love, and maybe to her one true love. SoNa, LuNa, and ZoNa. Who does she end up with, if any at all?
1. My Boys

**Hi everyone. It's been a while since I typed up a FanFic... I don't know if I'll continue my other stories... But, I promise you that I will definitely finish this one. I have all summer and I already have 4 out of the 7 chapters typed up for this story! It's based on my own "love story" I experienced up until now. I just modified the personalities of myself to fit Nami and Zoro's. Hope you enjoy it!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ONE PIECE OR IT'S CHARACTERS.**

_**Chapter 1: My Boys**_

As I sit here on my back porch, looking over my garden, I recall the three boys in my life that I have loved, or whatever that feeling is a silly teenager like me could have in grade school. I loved each of them differently, at different times and for different reasons, but all of them are mere pieces in my garden of life. They have added color and beauty to my garden and all of them, even the pieces that don't exist there anymore, are irreplaceable in my heart.

Sanji: My desert cloud.

Luffy: My rose.

Zoro: My angel.

* * *

**Really quick introduction. I'll be using metaphors but you'll have to wait for the last two chapters to see how they all tie in together! I uploaded the 2nd chapter because I knew this wouldn't be enough to capture much attention. I think it's pretty long and should suffice. Thanks for reading!**

**From now on, I'll be updating once a week. Every THURSDAY. **

**R&R. Especially if I should continue my other stories.**


	2. My Desert Cloud

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ONE PIECE OR IT'S CHARACTERS.**

_**Chapter 2: My Desert Cloud**_

_In 7th grade I had met him. Sanji: my desert cloud. He came and went without a word. He was unreachable, so high in the sky, it would be a miracle for me to get close enough just to touch him. In other words, Sanji was out of my league. It all started when I met him. When he was still the new kid_

"Hey, are you new?" It was lunch time, and there was a kid with beautiful blond hair who was sitting next to me. "I've never seen you here before." The mysterious person turned to me (he had been talking to one of his friends until I tapped his shoulder), and my heart raced. Not only was his hair beautiful, but so was his face. His jawline was well defined, his smile; two perfect rows of pearly whites, and his eyes... I don't know what they were. Were they blue, green, or brown? They seemed to change with the angle his face turned against the light and both were so deep in color. The only thing that bugged me was his curly eye brow... But, everyone has their flaws, right? Other than that, he was perfect. He even wore a tuxedo! To school!

"Greetings, ma'am. I'm Sanji," Was that a Jersey accent? "And I've been here for... I think two months, now. Right, Chopper?" He turned his head to the boy sitting next to him with fluffy brown hair.

"Chopan!" I was surprised to see the normal looking boy who was in my (excel) math class being friends with this god! His face kind of reminds me of that of a reindeer... Or maybe a raccoon. Whatever. But, what really intrigued me was this: were they really that close that Sanji would already have a cute little nickname for him?

"Hi, Nami!" Chopan beamed. "Did you get the Algebra homework? You were absent yesterday, right?"

"Oh, shoot! No, I didn't. I'll have to go see Ms. Robin later. Thanks." I got out my agenda from my backpack and scribbled down a note in it. "There."

"So, you're name is Nami?" My attention was quickly taken away from my notebook and to the silky voice of Sanji.

"Ah, y-yes." I stammered, trying to keep my nerves down. I pushed my glasses up onto the bridge of my nose. '_Wait a second, why am I acting so insecure? I'm the smartest girl in this school, I should act like it!_' "Why?" I steeled my nerves and started acting like my usual self.

"How fitting. A beautiful name for a beautiful lady." He said smoothly.

I froze. _'I think my nerves just melted..._' I thought, flattered by his compliment. "Ah, thank you!" I looked down at my tray of food, hoping that he wouldn't see my blush.

"Well, if you would excuse me, Ms. Nami, I'll be heading outside now. I've already finished my lunch, but I'll see you around." Sanji said majestically as he lifted his tray to go to the trashcans. "You coming, Chopper?"

"Yeah, I'm done too." Chopan (Chopper) got up as well. "See you later, Nami!" All I could do was hold up a hand, and give him a pathetic excuse of a wave.

The next couple of months were a flurry of disappointments. Sanji was a gentleman, but not just to me; to every girl in the school. Even 8th graders were falling for him! ("Oh my gosh, I like this guy, but he's a grade below us! I don't care though, because he's so hot! And dreamy." That's what I would hear in the restrooms.) Sadly, I was in the same boat as them. And a whole bunch of others. Statistically, I knew there was no way for me to ever have a chance with this prince, but... I couldn't help but admire him, if only from afar. As I was thinking this while walking down the hallways to my locker, I wasn't watching where I was going and accidentally bumped into someone. I gasped and closed my eyes, expecting to hit the ground hard, but strong arms encircled me before that could happen. Was it Sanji?

"Nami? Watch where you're going!" No, it wasn't. Of course not. Only in my dreams. I opened my eyes and glared at the person who was still holding me.

"Me? You watch where you're going, Zoro! I'm practically blind without my glasses, what's your excuse?" I huffed and reached to pick my binder up from the floor. Before I could though, it was already being taken by Zoro. "Hey, give it back!" I angrily said as a reached for it.

"I don't need an excuse because you were still wearing your glasses when you bumped into me." I blushed because I was embarrasses, but I was still angry at him.

"Ugh, whatever! Just give me back my binder." I had given up trying to reach for it and just held my hand out.

"Hm... no." Zoro smirked and held my green binder next to his matching green hair. Just then, it disappeared and we both looked at his empty hand.

"That's no way to treat a lady, sir." That voice; that accent! Sanji appeared from behind Zoro, who had a grumpy look on his face now instead of that condescending smirk. "Ah, Nami! We meet again. Here's your binder." He smiled so kindly. I didn't know what to say so I only blushed. For some reason, without thinking, I hugged him. I. Hugged. Sanji? Am I crazy, or what? I'm so hardcore making a move on Sanji. I could already feel the jealous stares of other girls passing by in the hall. He hugged me back. He hugged me back! Until we were falling. _Literally_ falling. Then it was stumbling and we were still on our feet. Sanji pulled away then and smiled nervously while scratching the back of his head (Was he embarrassed? Was this a sign that he liked me? I'm not good with boy signs!) But, what had happened? I saw Zoro retreating down the hall. Did he just push us? Oh no he did not! But... I guess I should thank him. I got to hug Sanji because of him after all. I awkwardly looked at Sanji, but his insecure facial features were long gone.

"My apologies, Nami. I didn't realize there would be a boy so childish as that one." He looked in the direction Zoro was heading.

"Oh, don't worry. We're friends." I smiled, but at my shoes. I couldn't look into his eyes after that!

"Well, I have to get home now. My mother should be waiting for me in the parking lot at this time." He pulled his sleeve up a bit to look at his watch.

I looked up at him now, knowing I had to meet him eye to eye when we were to part. "Bye Sanji! And thanks again." I smiled, hoping I looked cute.

He smiled back and started heading in the opposite direction. "It was my pleasure."

After I had watched his retreating form leave, I started to head to Zoro's house.

Zoro lived across the street from our middle school, so the walk wasn't so long. When I got there, he was sitting on his driveway. _'He looks like he's in a daze.'_ "Zoro!" I called to him. He must have been thinking about something because he looked at me suddenly. "My dad'll be here to pick me up in 2 hours. So stop daydreaming and let's get to tutoring!" I pushed my glasses up. He only looked at me. No reaction. Weird. Usually he'd make fun of me about my drooping glasses... He silently led the way to his front door and I followed right at his heels. Just as he grabbed the door handle, he stopped and turned to me. His face seemed to be dead serious, almost angry, and I gulped (Zoro looked really scary at that moment!)

"So Nami, who do you like?" I was taken aback by his question. Why would Zoro care about who I liked? Then Sanji's face appeared in my mind and I looked away and chuckled nervously. But, to make him think that I didn't like anyone, I reached for the door handle myself and asked

"Why would you care? It's not like I'd tell you." Yeah, I'm a snob when it comes to Zoro. But, he deserves this kind of treatment from me! To surprise me even more, suddenly, I was pinned against the door, trapped between him and the only escape into his house. My eyes widened; this was just offending! "What?" I glared, angry that Zoro would try to show his dominance like this.

"You like Sanji don't you?" He leaned in and growled lowly. I only stared at him. This was a test of will power. It was me versus Zoro and I would be the victor. But, staring into his hard onyx eyes started to make me falter... They seemed immovable. I was starting to cringe from the aura he was giving off and finally...

"Fine, I like Sanji!" I wailed. He backed off, just like that, and gave himself a triumphant nod. That's what's wrong with the two of us. We're both competitive; him with sports and me with brains. "You better not tell anyone, Zoro." I crossed my arms, but I couldn't make eye contact with him just yet.

"Why would I? It's not like I care about who you like or anything." He crossed his arms too. He lifted his head high and grimaced.

"Then why'd you ask me?!" I yelled at him.

"Because it's just so obvious that you do, okay? I just wanted to confirm my, uhh, what's the word..." He paused for a second to think.

"Suspicions?" I offered him. I could feel that the tension from earlier was dissipating and was relieved by that.

"Yeah, those." I snickered at his lack of vocabulary. It was just so like him.

I was still leaning against the door to his house, so when it suddenly opened I was falling... again. (Isn't this the 3rd time today? It hasn't even been 20 minutes!)

"Zoro, I heard some noise- Nami!" Portia, Zoro's sister and my best friend, caught me before I could hit my head on anything. Zoro tried to catch me too, so he was holding my wrist while Portia was holding me upright.

"Thanks guys!" Was Zoro blushing? Nah, must be my imagination. "Hey Portia!" I hugged her tight then turned to Zoro. "Now, it's time to study."

* * *

**And there was chapter two!**

**I couldn't make Sanji a pervert, because, seriously, who would fall for him if he was one? I still kept the "ladies man" aspect of him though.**

**And what's up with Zoro? A bit protective or just plain stubborn?**

**I hope your excited for CHAPTER THREE! "My Desert Cloud; Coming, Leaving, Coming, Gone?"**

**Oh, what could that mean? Hopefully there are some dense people out there who won't find that as a spoiler!**

**R&R.**


	3. My Desert Cloud: Coming, Leaving, Gone?

**DISCLAIMER: i DO NOT OWN ONE PiECE OR iT'S CHARACTERS.**

_**Chapter 3: My Desert Cloud: Coming, Leaving, Coming, Gone?**_

The summer after 7th grade was too long! So, when 8th grade finally came, I was excited. I couldn't wait to see Sanji again. My first period of the year was Geometry. And, luckily for me, Chopper was in my class! Sanji's nickname for Chopan had caught on quickly so everyone called him Chopper now.

"Hey, Chopper! How was your summer?" I greeted him.

"Nami! Mine was great. I got to go to Canada to visit some cousins. How was yours?"

_'Canada... I'm pretty sure reindeer live there...'_ I thought. I've made up my mind, Chopper really did resemble a reindeer and not a raccoon.

"Mine was great! But, by the time August came, I was just anticipating for school again." (That was a lie, I was anticipating school since the first day of summer.) I casually tried to bring up Sanji into our conversation. "So, did you get to hang out with Sanji over the summer?"

Chopper, being too kind to notice that I was using him (I'm a horrible person!), answered happily. "Oh, yeah. We got to hang out a lot, especially since he's moving to another middle school."

WHAT? "He's moving?" I feigned mild surprise, but on the inside I was devastated. These past few months with him in my life seemed to make me even more happier to go to school! Not just for learning, but also for him! Now he's just going to move?

"Well, he already moved." Chopper said casually. He obviously didn't know how depressed I was about this because he continued. "At least I got to say goodbye to him." He said kind of sadly.

'_I DIDN'T GET TO SAY GOOD BYE!'_ My heart was crying... "Oh, that's good... for you." I managed to say.

"Yeah. We still stay in contact though! So don't be sad." He smiled at me as if trying to cheer me up.

'_I'm not sad for YOU, I'm sad for ME!' _Life is not fair. I can't ask Chopper for Sanji's number. We were never really close... Plus, that would just be creepy of me.

"Well, it's still a bummer that he moved." I said sympathetically. "I heard a lot of girls liked him."

-0-0-0-

After the summer of 8th grade, my first day of high school came rolling in. Unexpectedly, so did my desert cloud. I was sitting in my first class of the day, English.

'_Okay, let's see... After this I have Spanish. That's upstairs.' _I read through my schedule over and over trying to memorize it in case I lost this paper. I heard the tardy bell ring and set my schedule down to look at my teacher, who was currently checking attendance and calling everyone's name.

"Nami Clementine? Well, that's a delicious last name!" Mr. Franky exclaimed. The class laughed and I smiled with them.

"I'm here. And, I prefer tangerines over clementines." The class giggled, which boosted my confidence a bit (not that I already wasn't confident).

"I can't tell the difference, so I'm neutral on the matter." My teacher jibed. He continued to call more students, so I just lay my head down on my desk and listened quietly.

"Sanji Takamura."

EH? My head shot up instantly, looking for the person who would say they were here in that dreamy Jersey accent. I hadn't seen him in... a year! Who would have guessed he would apply for the same high school as me and also get accepted? No one raised there hand. No one said "Here". The jitters were already in my system and I pushed my glasses up on the bridge of my nose to think. _'Maybe it's a different Sanji... Yeah. This Takamura guy sounds Japanese. Was Sanji Japanese? I don't think so... I wish I knew his last name!'_ I put my head back on my desk in defeat. We weren't going to do much anyways since it's the first day. Just get a list of school supplies needed and also the classroom policies. Mr. Franky also passed out a crossword puzzle for us to spend the rest of the class to work on.

After a while, I looked up at the clock and it was half way through class already. Just then, the door opened. Everyone was working on a crossword puzzle (I had finished in 5 minutes), so they didn't see the graceful appearance... of Sanji Takamura. He seemed to glide to the teachers desk and I strained my ears to listen to what they were saying. _'He is Sanji...'_ I was blushing like mad so I put my head on the desk again. My heart was pounding through my ears! I wonder if he even remembers me...

"Hello, sir," Jersey accent! "I'm Sanji Takamura."

"Ah, you're late. Really late." Mr. Franky didn't seem mad. His tone gave off that he thought Sanji's tardiness was actually quite funny.

"Yes. I live about 20 miles from the school and we came upon a street on the way here that had some construction work. Of course, maybe I should have woken up earlier." By now, Sanji's chat with Mr. Franky had gotten the attention of our classmates (especially the girls) and I could hear them whispering about the late kid.

"That's fine. It's only the first day of school anyways. Here's a crossword puzzle. That's what the others are working on. Oi! Nami, are you sleeping?" Mr. Franky called out to me.

_'NOOOO, don't call me!' _"Eh? No! I'm not! Well, yes I was. I thought I could because I had already finished my puzzle thirty minutes ago!" I avoided eye contact with Sanji and only looked at my teacher who had addressed me.

"Finished? I'm not even done with it... Here, get another one in case an administrator comes in. I don't want them to see you being unproductive. I might get in trouble." He laughed heartily and I walked over to the two of them.

I could feel Sanji's eyes on me but I continued to ignore him. I said thank you and scrambled back to my desk. I didn't bother looking at the puzzle and tried hard not to take a peek at Sanji, in fear that we'd make awkward eye contact.

_'I'll greet him after class... Yeah.'_

-0-0-0-

The bell rang and everyone was eager to go to their next class, yelling "Bye Mr. Franky!" as they walked out the door. I took my time, planning on how I could exit the class room right before Sanji. I exited the room and turned towards him. "Sanji?"

"Nami, you did recognize me!" He took my hand and kissed it. Angry whispers were coming from the other girls, but they turned to squeals when Sanji turned to them and smiled that radiant smile of his.

"Hehe, yeah. Sorry for ignoring you back there. I wasn't sure if _you_ remembered _me._" I laughed nervously. He kissed my hand!

"How could I forget these vibrant orange locks or yours?" He took a strand of my hair and held it in his hand. Was he always this easy to communicate with? "What class are you going to next?" I still having trouble comprehending how I should act towards him. The feelings from 7th grade I had for him were returning and so were the butterflies.

"Um, Spanish. You?"

"As am I!" Gee, he's so lively. "Let's walk together." He smiled. It was hypnotizing.

Sadly, the same events in 7th grade were happening all over again. Sanji became so popular in just the first week of school. He talked to everyone; hung out with everyone; was friendly with everyone! And me? I think people have come to see me as overbearing. The only people who could stand my smart mouth were the other smart mouths in this school. I was fine, my new school friends were hilarious in a witty way, but this caused me to distance myself even more from Sanji. I'm not saying I was hated, I'm pretty sure people admired me for my brain because they would always come and ask me for help on their homework or something.

-0-0-0-

I just didn't know how to approach Sanji. He would have to be the conversation starter, but he was always so busy conversing with other people who could just easily go up to him and start a conversation. I couldn't be myself around him. What if he hated my snarky attitude and urge to always be right? '_Why can't I be like that an enjoyable person?'_ I thought miserably one day. The first week of school was easy and now I was hanging out with my childhood friends (they didn't go to the same high school as me) on this fine Saturday evening. But, I was probably killing the mood.

We were saving a table and waiting for Vivi, Nojiko, Usopp and Brooke to get their food.

"Nami, what's up with you?" Portia asked. Her and Conis were looking at me with worry.

"What? I'm fine. Totatally fine." I told them reassuringly.

"Really? You look terrible." Zoro teased.

"Shut up, Zoro. I'm not in the mood." I said glumly.

"So you're not fine!" Conis exclaimed. Vivi, Nojiko, Usopp and Brooke came back to the table we were sitting at with their frozen yogurt.

"Seriously guys, it's nothing to worry about." I said as I got up with the rest of them who needed to get their cold treat.

When we were all sitting at the table, Portia brought up the topic again. "Is it about a guy? It's about a guy, isn't it?" A sighed, exasperated.

"It's probably about grades. This _is_ Nami we're talking about." Nojiko chimed in.

"Who's the guy?" Conis asked eagerly.

"Maybe she's crushing on a girl." Usopp joked and Brooke laughed with him. ("Yohohoho!")

"I bet he's smart. Nami would definitely go for the smart guys."

"Plus, there's a whole bunch of them at the honors high school she's attending."

"Hehe, yeah. Every one of them could be a potential doctor."

"Nami, you gold digger, you!"

I have had enough of this idle chatter. "OKAY, SHUT UP! All of you! If you want to know, just... shut up." I rubbed my temples. All their gibbering was giving me a head ache. "It is about a guy. Not a girl." I glared at Usopp and Brooke and both just snickered. "I'm pretty sure he is smart, since he was able to get into Going Merry Academy. Or he paid his way to get into the school, but I don't like him because he's rich! I don't even know if he's rich!"

"Do I know him?" Portia asked.

"Actually, you do... So does Zoro!" I had forgotten that we went to the same middle school.

He looked at me surprised. "Me?"

"Yeah... It's Sanji." The two siblings looked at me like I was crazy while the rest of them were just confused.

"Didn't that _noodle_ move away?" Zoro asked annoyed while he was staring at his bowl of yogurt, his eyes closed. He does that when he's thinking...

"Wha- Noodle? What's with that nickname? Do you have a problem with him or something?" I asked, annoyed with HIM.

"Yeah, he's a NOODLE. Him and his skinny arms always took all the girls in 7th grade." He stared into my eyes. Suddenly, there was a mischievous glint in them. "I mean, sure there were girls falling for me, but not the girl I liked back then. I mean, who could resist these?" He lifted his arms and flexed his biceps. We all laughed as he stood up and showed off his guns to the entire shop.

"Zoro, sit down!" Portia yelled through her laughs.

"You know, just because you're a track star-" I started.

"And a football star." He interrupted.

"Doesn't mean you'd get all the ladies. You have a sour attitude most of the time anyways." I told him without pausing.

"That was in middle school. I talk to my football friends all the time now."

"Oh yeaah, you wouldn't talk to anyone in middle school. Besides me and Nami." Portia said in thought. Portia was two grades below us, so she was in 6th grade when Zoro and I were in 8th.

"That's because you're my sister! And she's my longest friend."

"Well, now that Sanji reappeared back in your life... Do you still like him?" Vivi asked with curiosity. "I mean, he's like the prince that you've been long awaiting to see! It's almost like fate, don't you think?" She winked her brown eyes at me.

"Woah, don't get carried away! Besides, Sanji is just too... popular. I think I'll just like him from afar. It's not like things will actually work out between us because he's so nice to everyone. He likes everyone equally."

I was right. It didn't work out with me and my desert cloud. He was so close, yet so far. It only took some time for the wind to finally blow him away, even farther out of my reach and sight. But, as the saying goes, when one door closes, another one opens. This door just took another year to open and reveal to me my rose.

* * *

**Tada! Working on Chapter 4 Now!**

**Chapter 4: "My Rose"**

**Well, leave reviews on this chapter because I am not completely satisfied with it. Too much dialogue.**

**I'll try to work on that in the next chapter.**

**R&R. Thanks!**


	4. My Rose

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ONE PIECE OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS.**

_**Chapter 4: My Rose**_

In 10th grade, I met him. Luffy; my rose. He was a freshman when I became a sophomore and we had P.E. together (we're required to take this course at least once in high school... I didn't choose this class!). Usually, people take P.E. during their freshman year to get it out of the way, but I was planning to take it senior year. Too bad the administrators thought differently and encouraged (forced) me to take it this year.

-0-0-0-

"Ugh, P.E. is so stupid." I whispered to Chopper. "At least I have a fellow nerd with me here!" He smiled at that and I slapped his back playfully. Yes, Chopper made it into Going Merry Academy as well. It's no surprise really, he's so smart in math. (Science is my strong point).

We didn't have any classes together last year, so I'm glad that I have a friend who I can actually have a conversation with.

'I wonder if I could join track though... Zoro would probably make fun of me. Never mind. I'll just forget I thought that.' I was sitting on the dusty gym floor with everyone else listening to the P.E. coach talk about the guidelines of her class.

"Alright, maggots," Coach Alvida spit out (this isn't a boot camp, fatty!) "You all better bring your running gear tomorrow. We'll be doing stations. You'll see what those are tomorrow. For today, I'll be assigning you lockers, which should take up the whole period! Understood?!" She yelled. Her neck was straining from all her shouting, I thought the vein in her neck was going to burst...

In unison, everyone gave a weak "Yes, ma'am", then we heard a loud crash from the other side of the gym. Everyone turned their heads to look at the scrawny kid in the straw hat who had knocked down all the dumbbells on the dumbbell rack.

"Yahoooooo!" The kid yelled with both fists up in the air. If this was an anime, I'm sure everyone in here would have sweat dropped.

"Great, another lunatic." I said while rolling my eyes. Chopper chuckled.

"Look at Coach Alvida," he whispered. I did, and, oh the sight! Her face was turning as red as an apple- No! A cherry! A cherry volcano that would blow up any second...

"MAGGOT. WHO TOLD YOU TO GO OVER THERE?" She was still yelling while making her way over to the kid. "WHY I OUGHTTA..." She grabbed a dumbbell and it scared the poop out of me when she threw it at a nearby wall, making a long crack that reached to the ceiling.

"I don't think she's making things any better by destroying the school..." Chopper hid behind me, shivering. I just nodded my head to let him know I was listening.

"Woah, you're strong!" The kid yelled gleefully and complete wonder was filling in his eyes. They were sparkling in delight.

"You oughtta believe I'm strong, maggot! They don't call me Coach for nothing!" I think the kid's compliment was getting to her head or something because now she was grabbing more dumbbells. "Want to see me do it again?" She grinned proudly.

All of us fell back in surprise at her sudden change. This was ridiculous! What kind of a coach was she?!

"Nah." The kid said plainly. He probably didn't want to see the same thing twice, but at least one of them was sane enough to stop this destruction. Or so I thought because then he added "I wonna see you throw the whole dumbbell rack at the wall!" He grinned widely and threw his fists into the air again.

"Hoho! I like you kid!" She was already putting the dumbbells back on the rack and I seriously thought she was going to do what the kid wanted! I couldn't let that happen! The both of them combined could destroy the whole school. Just as Coach Alvida was seriously wrapping her arms around the rack, I stood up.

"STOP!" The two of them looked at me. The kid looked surprised and Coach looked annoyed. "You two are going to wreck the whole school if you keep it up with these shenanigans of yours. I mean, really. Aren't you the Coach? Act like it! And you!" I pointed at the kid. "Stop causing trouble. You're gonna dent the floors if you keep knocking things over." I put my hands on my hips and challenged both of them to go against my word.

"Maggot..." Coach Alvida sneered at me. "Do you know who you're talking to?" The slimy tendrils of her aura were long enough to reach all the way across the gym, but I didn't care. She couldn't hit a student... Right?

"Maybe you should listen to her, Alvida." A gruff voice said. Everyone, including a shocked Alvida, turned to the man and the woman that had just stepped in through the gymnasium.

"Principal Smoker!" Coach Alvida put her head down in shame.

"Ms. Robin?" I asked, completely surprised to see my 7th grade math teacher here. Chopper stepped out from behind me, his fear apparently gone.

"Hi, Ms. Robin!" The two of them made their way over to us with the two culprits in tow.

"I'm the new Vice Principal here." She said elegantly. Ms. Robin always had a way with her stance or words (something!) that made her seem all-knowing and wise. "Alvida, you better listen to Nami here. If not, listen to me. I don't want to see the destruction of this school any further, do you understand?" She didn't say it sternly, but there was definitely a tone of authority in her voice. 'Ms. Robin, you're as cool as ever!'

"Yeah, whatever." Alvida glared in the opposite direction.

"And boy!" Principal Smoker barked. "If I ever catch you defiling my school again, your getting Saturday school."

"Heehee, that sounds like a fun game! You'll never catch me!" The boy grinned fiercely and held his hat with a hand. Was he really in high school? Did he really get into Going Merry Academy, because this guy is crazy! Even I wouldn't defy Principal Smoker... He's scary. Way scarier than Coach Alvida because he actually has power in this school. He could kick me out!

"I've got my eye on you Monkey D. Luffy." The principal sneered. And with that clearly said, both him and Ms. Robin walked towards the door.

Monkey D. Luffy? The kid's name was Monkey? Poor kid. Then again, my last name is a fruit, but it's not like people address me by Clementine. And to add more surprise to this gym class, Monkey just had to say this:

"Bye, Uncle Smoker!"

UNCLE?! That explains so much. His uncle was probably the one that was able to get this crackhead into our school and also why he could stand up against the Principal! Their related! They probably argue all the time...

"Don't call me uncle during school! I'm your principal!" Principal Smoker yelled and slammed the door behind him.

-0-0-0-

Coach Alvida finally got to assigning lockers and I was one of the first ones. She wasn't very happy to see me and, I guess in retaliation to me standing up to her, she gave me a bottom locker. ("This is a bottom locker, maggot.") Pft, if that's the best she can do, she's gonna need some heavier artillery. I walked back to Chopper. While we were talking, we noticed the group of people that were swarming the principal's nephew. ("Dude, you're crazy!" "Woah man, you got guts.")

"That kid's got nerve, I tell you." I told Chopper. As if Monkey heard me talking about him, he left his peers and came over to us. He had this happy go lucky smile on his face and, to be honest, it was starting to bug me. "What do you want?" I looked at him, slightly annoyed by his presence. I don't know how I feel about this kid. He just seems so overly happy.

"Hi, I'm Chopper." That's just like him, always got to be the nice one. He stuck out his hand for the freshman to shake. Monkey just looked at it... and ignored it.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy! But, people just call me Luffy... What's your name, girl?" He pointed at me and Chopper sulked silently with his head down. I patted his head half-heartedly and turned to "Luffy".

"Hey, don't ignore people like that!" This kid! I felt like I just had to lecture him. Was he raised in a home or in the forest? "Do you have any common sense?" That may have been going to far, and a bad first impression from me, but I couldn't help myself! This boy needed training. I may have thought I had gone too far, but then he had started laughing. Really loud.

"I like you! You wonna be apart of my crew?" Chopper and I only stared blankly at him.

-0-0-0-

It turns out Principal Smoker had suggested to the board of our school to enroll his nephew, Monkey D. Luffy, because of his athletic abilities. (He only seemed scrawny from afar, apparently.) Luffy was supposed to start a Judo club with Principal Smoker sponsoring it and he was recruiting people from our P.E. class, hoping there were some potential talents.

He told me that I should join his club (crew) because of my strong will. ("It would come in handy during tournaments.") Also, Luffy had been home schooled until now. I'm pretty sure that has nothing to do with his bad etiquette. He was probably just a really dense person. A really dense annoying person. Someone I would want to keep away from me at all times.

So, tell me again why I actually appeared to after school practice?

"Namiiiiii!" We were all meeting in the gym and Luffy was the last to arrive. "You came!" He was running at me full force, and the next thing I knew I was swaddled in his arms in a tight bear hug. What is he doing?! As soon as he let go of me I punched him with all my strength on his head. He lay there in a daze.

"You don't just go up to strangers like that, Luffy!" I could feel people were staring me down, with either admiration or disgust, but I didn't care. "You're also late! Aren't you the head of this Judo club?" He sprang back up (Is this kid made out of rubber? Nothing can keep him down!).

"That's the spirit! You have amazing potential for Judo!" He jeered with his hands up in fists (That's kind of his thing). I blushed.

Me, good at a sport? I thought that was impossible! It was either brains or brawn and I had chosen brains. To be honest with myself, I probably didn't choose brawn because of Zoro, who would, supposedly, just shoot me down. Never had I ever had this support in going for a sport.

"Um, I'm not even that strong, Luffy." I mumbled. Secretly, I was hoping that he would continue his praise about my "athletic" ability, and he didn't fail me.

"Nami. Judo is a contact sport." Just then he turned to everyone and started giving us a lecture. "The key to winning a match is to take down your opponent. There are some holds that don't depend on how strong you are. It's all about technique. But, of course that doesn't mean we won't be working out. I want to be able to see all of you throw your opponents down!" He grinned. I have got to admit, that was pretty encouraging. And quite surprising that something so inspiring could come out of this noob.

After Luffy explained everything (tournaments, workouts, funds, etc.) the meeting was over. Everyone left and then it was just us two.

"Are you excited for the practices? I know I am! I can't wait for everyone to kick butt!" He pounded his fist into his other hand with pure determination.

"You have high hopes for this club, huh?" This kid was pretty enthusiastic and it was kind of contagious. I was starting to feel the excitement he was feeling, but I still had to talk to him about something.

"Yeah, I bet you're gonna be awesome, Nami!" He grinned and I actually believed he thought that. "You'll see."

"Oh yeah, about that, Luffy. I can't join your club..." The look on his face didn't really change. In fact, he kept on smiling as if he hadn't heard me...

"Well, I got to be going, Nami. See you at practice next Tuesday!" He turned to leave, (He turned to leave?!) and only made it two steps before I pummeled my fist into his head for the second time today! Seriously, what's with this guy?

"Hey, idiot! Listen to what I have to say!" The nerve of this guy! After I had given him a hard core noogie attack, he decided to acknowledge my previous statement.

"But why noooooooot?" He whined, dropping to the floor in obvious defeat.

"I won't join unless you let Chopper join as well!" I grabbed him by his shirt collar and looked directly into his eyes. "You listening to me?" His eyes averted from mine and he began to pout. 'What a child...'

"Why do I have to invite that wimpy kid into my crew?" He continued to whine.

"Because that wimpy kid is my friend." I stared into his eyes one more time before dropping him back onto the floor. He lied there not moving, perhaps wondering if he should let Chopper join his Judo club.

'Awh man... What if I was too bossy?' Great, now the kid was starting to make me feel self-conscious. I grabbed my bangs in slight frustration and then had to push my glasses back up because of that action. I was just about to head for the door when Luffy finally talked again.

"Chopper's got a good friend." He was still laying on his back and then did one of those kick up moves to get back up onto his feet. (I admit, that was impressive.) "Fine, I'll let him in for you." He grinned widely, but then turned serious once again. "But, I can't promise you that he'll be doing any tournaments."

I grinned, excited to tell Chopper later on that I got him into the Judo club. "Thanks, Luffy."

I guess he isn't so bad.

* * *

**Okay, most definitely not my best chapter. I didn't get to finish this before I went out of town and I tried to hurry and finish it to be able to publish it before I got out of town AGAIN.**

**This time, I'm going on a retreat. On fire for God, man!**

**I couldn't seem to get Nami's point of view the way I wanted, but I'll try harder on the next chapter!**

**"Chapter 5: My Rose; Blooming then Wilting"**

**Anyways, please R&R.**

**Sorry for the really... really late update.**


	5. My Rose: Blooming then Wilting (Part I)

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE OR IT'S CHARACTERS.**

_**My Rose: Blooming then Wilting (Part 1)**  
_

"I have an announcement to make!" I declared when all of my friends had gotten to our usual spot at our usual frozen yogurt place. They all stopped their independent chats among each other and turned their attention towards me. I looked at each of them in the eyes, until I got to Zoro's. Then I looked down into my empty cup that I had already finished. 'Oh gosh, I just know he's going to laugh at me! Well, if he laughs, I'll just prove him wrong! That I CAN be athletic like him! ... Okay, maybe not like him... he's like a track prodigy... and he gets sports so easily and-'

"Nami, hurry up and spit it out." Zoro grumbled. I guess I should thank him for interrupting my thoughts because the next thing that came out of my mouth was all determination fueled by my rage for him.

"Shut up, Zoro! I'm just trying to think about how I should say this." I glared at him. "Well, since you really want to know, I have joined the Judo club!" I proudly smiled at all of my friends.

"That wasn't so hard to say..." Usopp mumbled.

"Woah, Nami, that's amazing!" Vivi said. She was always the type to never put someone down. I'm grateful for that, unlike some people!

"HA." I glared at Zoro once again.

'Why did I like this guy before?' I thought, irritated. It seems like everything he says provokes me.

"I have to agree with Zoro's scoff..." I surprisingly looked at Brooke. I mean, Brooke isn't exactly a nice guy, but he was never the one to speak his negative thoughts out. "Let me explain!" I guess he noticed the look of betrayal written all over my face. "You're not very... Well, athletic. Judo could cause many injuries to someone like you. Sorry, Nami. I just don't want to see you to get hurt."

"Or make a fool of yourself." Zoro added in.

I understood where Brooke was coming from, but Zoro could just put a sock in it!

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do! I can do this guys. Right, girls?" I looked to Vivi, Nojiko, and Conis for support but they only avoided eye contact with me.

Well, talk about awkward. I guess Brooke's words got to them...

"Whatever. It's not even y'alls decision to make for me. I'm doing this." I said, now determined to prove them all wrong.

We were all heading to my car, when Usopp stopped me right before I was about to take the driver's seat. "Listen, Nami. We're all just concerned about your physical health. Because we all know you're fine mentally." He grinned at his own joke, and I couldn't help but be grateful to him for lightening the mood. "Anyways, I just wanted to tell you, that if it's you, you can do it. You've got the will!" He made a fist with his right hand.

"Thanks, Usopp. And I understand. But, I'm still going to go through with this even if they don't think it's a good idea." I had to at least try and see if I was any good. If I didn't, then I would never know.

"You've also got the strength! Trust me, I would know from all the fists you've dealt on my head!" He laughed out loud at that one.

-0-0-0-

I drove to Chopper's house early in the morning to pick him up for school. The whole drive there, I was thinking about what my friend's had told me on Saturday about their concern for me. They're all good friends, but I can't let them get in the way with what I want to do.

Chopper was already waiting on his porch and I waved at him. "Morning, Chops!" I grinned. He got into the passenger seat.

"Hey, Nami! You excited for today?" His eyes were gleaming and his hands were clasped together. I could only giggle at his appearance just then. My friend is so adorable.

"Yup, I can't wait for Judo club."

-0-0-0-

The final bell for the day had just rung and I slowly made my way to the gym where our first lesson would be held. I was already standing at the door and through the windows, I saw that everyone was already there. Well, almost everyone.

"Nami, why aren't you going in?" Luffy's curious face appeared out of nowhere in front of me and I jumped back like ten feet, because he had startled me so bad! I stared at him, shocked for a moment, then decided to teach him a lesson for scaring the poop out of me. I glared.

I aimed my fist for his forehead, and took a swing, but it was caught by his hand.

"Haha, I won't get hit by you twice the same way becau-" He stopped mid-sentence because I had kneed him in his balls.

He crumpled to the floor holding his crotch and whimpered all the way down. "Namiii~..." He said my name through his pain. And all I could do was chuckle demonically.

"Well, you did say you wouldn't get hit twice the same way. So, I decided to try something different." I smirked down at him. "Sorry, Luffy. You shouldn't scare a girl like that while she's thinking." I smiled menacingly and walked into the gym without him.

"Hi, Nami! You're pretty late. But, I guess not as late as Luffy... I wonder where he is." Chopper glanced at the door hoping it would open right after he said that. It didn't and he sighed, disappointed.

Probably five minutes later, Luffy walked into the gym composed as if nothing had happened. When he saw me, he grinned widely, and then I was confused. 'I just racked that guy... How could he come in here happy at me like that?'

"Sorry, I'm late again, guys! I got into some trouble..." He stole a glance at me and grinned again, as if what happened between us was an inside joke or something. I could only smile at him, but it wasn't a manipulative smile like before, but... an amused one, I guess. "You all should have gotten changed though... Go change now and then we'll start."

-0-0-0-

"So, I'll be pairing you all up. I recruited you guys, so I have some idea on your strengths and weaknesses. But, since there's an odd number now..." He turned his head to Chopper and stared blankly at him, which my friend was completely oblivious to, "one of you guys will have to train with me." Well, I would hate to be that person. I would probably be paired with Chopper. I mean, it makes sense... We're both athletically challenged, having taken the brain train far from the muscle station.

But, I was starting to doubt Luffy's judgement of strengths and weaknesses when he actually paired Chopper with some muscle-bound guy. A senior most likely!

Everyone was now paired up... except for me.

"Nami, you're with me." Luffy said, while keeping his professional face on. He may have seemed cool and collected, but I was freaking out! I have the Judo-pro as my partner! What is this?! I could only gape at him and my bad luck that had caused this. He was looking at everyone else, but then glanced at me. He probably saw the look on my face, because he was now trying not to smile. "Alright everyone. Lay out the mats on the floor and while you're doing that, I'll tell you the "do's and don't's" of Judo... Intentionally injuring you opponent is not permitted. Neither is punching, kicking, or any kind of strike. Like I said, this is a contact sport. You cannot touch your opponents face. Attacking joints is also not permitted. Well, except elbows. Elbows are good. Head dives are not allowed either."

Chopper's partner was visibly disappointed by that and heaved a large sigh. Chopper only shivered in place and looked at me, scared. I smiled at him reassuringly. Luffy continued with more rules and also guidelines. He then went on to the position where we would start a match with an opponent and other stuff.

"Alright, now I'll teach one grab. It's called the Naked Strangle hold." He started jumping up and down (probably couldn't contain his excitement to teach).

The what? I looked at everyone else to see if they were disturbed by the name of this one hold, but they all seemed to be just excited as excited as Luffy to be finally learning some moves.

"With this hold, you can bring your opponent to the ground. Or hold them when they're already on the ground. I don't suggest to use this as your first move though. Let me demonstrate." Luffy looked over at me and signaled for me to go over to him.

Oh gosh... I walked to him as if I were walking a plank to my doom. He noticed how nervous I was and smiled... almost evilly. Is this kid even capable enough to be evil? Well, too late to think about that, because he was standing behind me now.

"This is for earlier." He whispered into my ear playfully. I gulped. "Alright! Choose which partner will go first!" He waited until everyone had chosen. I looked over at Chopper again and saw him standing in front of his muscular partner. We were in the same predicament. "Now, take your dominant arm and wrap it around your opponent's neck, making sure that their chin is above your elbow joint. Like this." He pulled me closer to his body by my shoulders and wrapped his left arm around my neck. "Then, you're going to hook your dominant hand on your non-dominant arm's bicep, like this." He did so. "And you're going to grab your non dominant bicep with your dominant hand. So it'll kind of look like a pretzel." He let go of my neck to show the shape of his arms. It did look like a pretzel... "Your opponent's head will be in this hole right here." He tried pointing at it with his chin, but I guess it was sufficient enough because everyone said "Ohhhh..." indicating that they understood now. Took them a while.

"Alright, that's only half of the hold. I said you could use this to take your opponent down. And I'll show you how." His grin was ear to ear and I was starting to worry about my health.

'I should have listened to my friends! What have I gotten myself into?!'

He walked over to the mats, and I felt obligated to follow. I was after all his test dummy. I was also interested on how the choke hold would work. "Okay, so I have Nami here in my hold." I blew my bangs out of my face. He wasn't choking me and from this close, I could see the definition in the muscles in Luffy's arms... Yeah, he's definitely not scrawny. "And then, I'm going to jump and wrap my legs around her waist!"

"Wait, what?!" My eyes bugged out, but before I knew it, Luffy had already wrapped his legs around me and we were falling down. I grunted as his back hit the floor and my back hit his chest. This position was pretty uncomfortable. I mean, I was in between Luffy's legs... On the floor. (Blush, blush).

He gave a breathy laugh in my ear, and I blushed even more. Hopefully, the others would see it as me being deprived of oxygen and not me blushing. That would be even more embarrassing. "Okay, Nami. Try to get out of my hold."

'Try to get out of my hold' he says. I'll show him! I tried going for his arms, but it seemed I only ended up pushing them farther up, tightening his grip around my neck. I went for his legs, trying to push them off, but they wouldn't budge either. After about a minute of this, I gave up. Yeah, I definitely showed him... I sighed in defeat.

"Okay, everyone. Grab a place on the mat and take turns practicing this hold. Try not to choke your opponent though... Or break their necks." Luffy let go of me and scooted out from under me. Everyone was already trying out the new move, but I continued to just lay there. "Uh, you can get up now, Nami." Luffy crouched down next to my head. He poked my cheek and I swatted it away, making him laugh.

"I don't know if I can do this, Luffy. Judging by that performance, I suck." I looked up at the ceiling then closed my eyes. My friends were right. I'm not athletic. I'll never be good at sports. If I keep this Judo thing up, I'll probably die. Zoro's smirking face came into my head, just then.

Sigh... I don't want to see that mocking face of his. Not now. This was just depressing.

"Hm, well that was the only one test run you've done. I haven't even taught you guys how to get out of that hold yet." He stood up and held out his hand for me to take. "But, now it's your turn to do the hold. Why don't you see how well you can do on offense before judging your ability?" He grinned and I looked up at him amazed. This guy really did believe in me. He actually believed that I could do this. He actually wanted me to continue the club.

I took his hand and stood in front of him, my spirit renewed.

Zoro's mocking face was now replaced by the thought of me having Luffy in a choke hold. Confidence started bubbling up from inside me and I found myself more than glad to challenge the guy in front of me.

"Alright. This can be pay back for embarrassing me in front of your crew." I grinned teasingly.

"Hey. That choke hold of mine was pay back to YOU for racking me! Don't think I forgot about it just because I put this smile on my face." He laughed heartily again and ruffled my hair. I laughed with him.

* * *

**Okay guys. I decided to separate the** **Rose period into different chapters.**

**Mostly because I wanted to leave something for last Thursday before I leave to go on my retreat.**

**By the way, I'm not in Judo. I don't know what I'm talking about. I only looked up some Judo holds and analyzed the positions of their arms and legs. **

**So, if you are in Judo, don't think too lowly of me. **

**The Next Chapter will probably be the last chapter of the Rose period, but I'm not sure. It depends on how many moments I want Nami and Luffy to have. It may be a couple... or a lot. Who knows?**

**What I am excited for though, is the Angel period! I can't wait to publish it. Still working on it, though. I haven't even started the next part of this Rose chapter.**

**Silly me.**

**Thanks for reading. R&R :)**


	6. My Rose: Blooming then Wilting (Part II)

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE OR IT'S CHARACTERS**

_**My Rose: Blooming then Wilting (Part II)**_

It was spring time; the second semester had just started a couple of weeks ago and Judo club had become a main part of my life! It wasn't just science or math anymore, but an actual sport that included working out! Luffy had taught us so much about Judo, I mean, it was a lot for only 6 months of practice. He signed the crew up for a volunteer tournament. Entries were free and he said he had signed me up! And even Chopper was able to keep up with Luffy's standards so he was going to participate in it too! My sophomore year has been such an exciting one... and it's probably all thanks to Luffy...

"Guys, you all need to come to my first tournament!" I announced to my group of friends. "It's going to be Wednesday after school at some community center. I'll text you all the details later." I winked at all of them, feeling achieved at coming so far in Judo.

It was Saturday once again, which means frozen yogurt, of course! The girls clapped for me and giddily nodded their heads.

"Yes! Let's all go together!" Vivi said excitedly.

"Yeah, go Nami! That's my girl!" Portia cheered.

"We can make posters! And paint our faces orange like your hair!" Conis giggled at her idea and I smiled genuinely at them.

"I'm proud of you, Nami. You were able to stick it out after all." Nojiko said calmly, then smiled at me.

I basked in the glory of Nojiko's statement. She's like an older sister to me, so her saying she's proud of me really hit a soft spot of mine. Like I finally received my stamp of approval in life from her! (Not really, but it feels like that.)

"Yeah, we'll all be there!" Usopp cheered.

"Alright, awesome!" I said. "Tickets are five bucks."

"Uhhh..." Usopp stopped cheering and looked at Zoro. "Can I borrow some money from you, Zoro? I don't get my allowance until next Saturday and I already spent half of it today... Hehe."

I looked at Zoro and his grumpy face as he begrudgingly nodded yes to Usopp. "You're going right, Zoro?" I asked.

Zoro may be an annoying jerk and a debbie downer and an egotistical punk... But he's one of my closest friends and this first tournament of mine meant a lot to me. Of course he should be there for this special moment of mine!

Zoro stared wide eyed at me and then quickly looked down at his bowl of frozen yogurt. "U-uh," he stammered. "I have a track meet that day... So, I don't know if I'll be able to make it..." All the girls gasped, not including me because I was too shocked for any audio to come out of my mouth. I could only stare, until I realized I was letting my emotions for _Zoro_ show on my face.

"Oh, it's no big deal," I may have said that, but I sure as heck did not mean it! "The rest will be there, so it's all good." I may have said that, but it sure as heck was not "all good"! But, I didn't want Zoro knowing that. It might just boost his ego knowing that he's wanted around by me. Or am I just being too full of myself? No, I'm not.

"What time does it start though?" Zoro asked. He genuinely looked like he wanted to attend.

"It starts at 5:30. Think you can make it?" I asked, curious at what he was going to say next.

"I..." He looked up at me again. I don't know if my eyes were filled with hope or not, but I could feel it swelling up in my chest. "I don't think so." Well, that just popped it. "The track team leaves school early, like around 4 o' clock because events start at 5:30... It gives us time to set up camp, warm up, and practice a bit. I don't think I can skip out either because I'm on the 4x1 relay team..." Zoro, honestly, looked at me apologetically.

"Well, like I said, it's all good, Zoro. Maybe next time, jerk." I stuck my tongue out at him playfully. He smirked, but it seemed that his mood was still downcast.

"So..." Brooke said slowly, trying to get everyone's attention. "I'll bring the chips! Who's going to bring the beverages?"

-0-0-0-

"Namiiiiii!" I turned and saw Luffy and Chopper running towards me. They both caught me and we all had a group hug.

"Haha, hey guys!" I said, pushing my glasses back into place.

"You're here early!" Chopper said out loud. Ever since Chopper had mangaed to hold that senior in the naked strangle hold on that first day, Luffy and him have been hanging out a lot recently.

"Yeah, I asked my last teacher if I could get out of class early to come here and get ready for the tournament." I grinned. I was already changed into clothes and my duffle bag was ready at my side.

"Nice! You ready to kick some butt today?" Luffy cheered with both of his fists in the air. I chuckled.

"Kick butt? I don't know. But, I'm ready to try." I made a fist as well and held it up.

A couple of minutes later, everyone that was going to today's tournament had come to the gym and got ready. We loaded some gatorade tanks into the bus and piled in. There were only a couple of us, so we didn't fill in even half of the bus. Chopper sat in front of me and Luffy sat in the seat across the aisle from me. Senior guy, his name's actually Bellamy and he is CRAZY, sat in front of Luffy. Like, crazy good in Judo. And also crazy which makes him crazy good in Judo. I don't know, you'd just have to see how he throws his opponents around like they're rag dolls then you'd know what I'm talking about. The only other girl on the judo team besides myself was Erza*. I don't really talk to her, but we have mutual respect for one another. She's good too, but she told me her main sport was fencing.

The bus started and we were just about to leave when the doors opened again and we saw the familiar head of Principal Smoker.

"You all better do your best out there." He glared and then gave a little lee way for a smirk. (I guess this man doesn't smile much when there's people around.) "Good luck out there and make our school proud. And Luffy." Luffy looked up from his phone to the principal. "Make sure no one gets hurt."

"Heh, I can't gaurantee that Uncle Smoker. This is a rough sport, but they all know what they're getting into." He laughed out loud and we all cheered as a team. There may have only been a few of us, but we were loud! Principal Smoker rubbed his temples and brought out a pack of cigarettes.

"Whatever. Then make sure everyone gets back alive at least. That's an order!" He yelled with the cig in between his lips and held a lighter to it. "See ya." He headed off the bus and Luffy returned his focus back to the screen of his phone. He brought out some ear buds and started listening to some music. I looked at Chopper.

"Hey, Chops?" I asked.

"Yeah, Nami?" He replied in his high pitched voice.

"Are you nervous?"

"Hmmm..." He thought about it for a few seconds and then answered me. "Nah. I know I'll be fine because God's watching over me." He smiled at me.

"Oh, I see..." Usually, I get uncomfortable when Chopper brings up God or religion. I feel like the topic is a tight rope and one false move, one false comment, could make it the end of our friendship. I don't know if I do believe in a God... I mean, it's not like i believe those theories about man coming from monkeys (there are still monkeys today!), but having faith in something that I can't see kind of seems... unreasonable. "Well, I mean you also did get better! I mean look at your muscles, they're way more bigger than before you joined the judo club!" I tried changing the topic.

"What? Me? Haha, stupid!" It worked. "Just because you say something like that doesn't mean I'm happy or anything!" Yeah, Chopper's adorable. I looked over at Luffy. He had his eyes closed and was still listening to his music. I smiled and jumped into his seat next to him, making him open his eyes lazily.

"What are you listening to?" I smiled. Seriously, I feel like I'm- I'm Luffy or some other happy freak whenever I'm around this guy! He grinned and handed me an ear bud. I put it in my ear and leaned a bit closer so it wouldn't fall out. My head was pretty close to his head, but I acted like I didn't notice. Which was pretty difficult, so I just focused on the song. It was "Soul Sister" by Train and it was already close to the end.

"This is a good song." I smiled and looked up at Luffy's face which was staring right at me. He had a sleepy smile, but was still smiling none the less. I looked down again and pretended to be concentrating on the song again. The look on his face was just so... cute! I don't know! At the beginning of the school year, Luffy was more like a little brother, but ever since I started getting serous about judo, he's become... more? Like, he probably saw that I actually liked judo and wanted to help me get better. Making him seem more like a mentor rather than a noob freshman.

"Watching you is the only drug I need." Luffy half sang and half talked the song. I smiled and sat up, looking at the seat in front of me.

"You're so gangster, I'm so thug." I smiled, because I was definitely the opposite of a thug.

"You're the only one I'm dreaming of. You see," He said.

"I can be myself now finally, in fact there's nothing I can't be." I said.

"I want the world to see you be," He said.

"With me..." I said.

The next chorus played and suddenly Luffy hung an arm around my shoulder and then hugged me while leaning against the window, pulling me with him. That snapped me out of our "moment" and I stammered.

"Luffy! Wh-What are you-" I was cut off.

"Shhh, I'm trying to get some shut eye." I craned my neck to look at his face and he had his eyes closed with that sleepy smile on again. What's wrong with this kid?

"Do I really need to be your teddy bear?" I asked, feigning annoyance. Okay, maybe I enjoyed his embrace... But only a little! He chuckeled.

"Yup." He said and hugged me tighter to prove his point.

"Uh, no." I said. I already had my hand on his arm to pull it off.

"Awh, please, Nami? Just 5 more minuuutes." I was trying not to smile because he sounded like a complete child with his request. I proceeded to pull one of his arms off, but he just put it back around my neck. I tried again... and failed again. After a few more attempts, he held down my hands. "Don't make me do the naked strangle hold on you."

My eyes widened and I submitted. "Ugh, fine. Whatever." I whispered. "But, only 5 minutes!"

"Yay." And he was smiling again.

-0-0-0-

We got there just in time for registration at 5:30. We were all given numbers that were pinned onto our shirts and then we waited in a room with all the other competitors. Luffy wasn't participating in this tournament because it was for amateurs only and let's face it, he's such a pro. I heard my text notification sound off from my duffle bag and pulled out my phone. It was Portia who had texted me. "We're here! Where are you?" The text read. I smiled and was grateful that they were all able to make it... Well, I mean except Zoro.

"We're in the competitor's waiting area. I don't know if you guys can come down here." I texted back. Like, 10 seconds later, my phone sounded off again.

"Awh maaaan. i wanted to wish you good luck in person! i'll just congratulate you afterwards! btw, we're sitting in the waaaay front! We got great seats! Youll be able to see us and the posters we made! Plus, i have a surprise for youuuuu!" Yeah, Portia's a fast texter. Another text came before I could finish the first one. "Jus sayin, the surprise isn't the posters because i already mentioned those"

"Okay, maybe I'll be able to see you guys soon. My match is one of the first ones because I'm like an amateur amateur. Haha." I texted back.

"k, thats cool. i can't wait! you'll get to see the surprise!" I chuckled because even through text Portia was so lively.

"Alright, I'll see you later :)" I texted back. I put my phone up.

-0-0-0-

"Numbers 23 and 22 please come to the door. You're match will be next." Some attendants had called.

I didn't pay much attention to them until I remembered something. 'Wait a second, I'm 23!' I looked down at the pinned number on my shirt. Then I looked to where the attendants were standing near the door and a girl about the same size as me was walking up to them. Same size, that's good. Maybe that means we're the same strength. I started calculating my chances of winning when someone interrupted my thought process.

"Nami, you're up!" Luffy slapped his hand on my back for support. I weakly looked at him and nodded solemnly. The impact of this being my first real match ever was starting to get to me. 'Gosh, I made it such a big deal to my friends... I don't want to disappoint them!' I walked over to the attendants and tried to swallow my nerves down. I straightened my back and held out my hand to the other girl. She shook it.

The match before us had just ended and now the me, the girl, and the two other attendants were walking out of the door now. They led us to our arena and allowed us to step onto the mat where the referee was. The nerves were starting to get to me again when we were facing each other on the mat. This was it. I got into my stance, a bit shaky, but I managed. Just then, I heard Luffy yelling my name.

"Nami! You got this! You're good! No, you're great!" I smiled, grateful for the encouragement. "Just remember everything you learned and you'll be okay!" I nodded and all of a sudden I was filled with determination. Determination to win, and to prove Luffy right for once.

-0-0-0-

I heard the crowd cheering. I got up slowly, my knees a little bit weak and looked over at my opponent who was getting up as well. We met in the center again and bowed. (Sorry guys, I don't know if they bow at the end of matches). I grinned at her and shook her hands. "Good match." She smiled back and returned the statement. The referee grabbed both of our hands, one in each of his, then put down my opponent's and held mine up. I heard the crowd cheering even louder. I grinned. I did it! I won the match!

The feeling of accomplishment from winning this match was way more better than the times I won the science fair for the past 4 years! I grinned and scanned the crowd for my friends. And, right in front of me, I saw four brightly colored posters with a letter of my name on each of them. I waved at them. Portia was holding the "N", Usopp was holding the "A", Conis was holding the "M", and... holding the "I" was... Was Zoro! Him being here was such a shock! The attendants led us back to the waiting room.

"Namiiiii! You were so awesome!" Chopper yelled and gripped me in a bear hug. Behind him, was the rest of the crew. Chopper let go and they all came up to me at once congratulating me.

"Thanks!" I said with a smile. A big big big smile.

"Nami!" Luffy called and he made his way to me. He stopped right in front of me and held out his arms.

I smiled even bigger and went into his waiting arms and wrapped my own arms around his waist. "Thanks, Luffy."

"I knew you could do it." He whispered in my ear. I blushed a bit then let go of him.

"Um, y-yeah. You just have so much faith in me, I didn't want to let you down... Or any of my other friends because I made such a big deal about today and yeah." I babbled out. "Speaking of them, I'm going to go see them!" I said hastily and walked towards the exit.

"Hey, Nami!" I turned around and faced Luffy.

"Don't forget that you have another match." He held up a fist and grinned. I mimicked his movements and then left to go join my other friends in the stands.

"Nami, over here!" Portia yelled, which was kind of unnecessary because the crowd had already settled down for the next match. Portia walked up to me while dragging Zoro by his wrist over to me. I smirked.

"Surprise! The surprise is Zoro!" Portia cried out happily. She was obviously proud of herself for this feat. She hugged me. "Nami, you were awesome out there! You were like Grrrrr and Rooooar and yeah." I laughed at how silly she was being. "Okay, I'm going to go back to the seats soooo... talk to Zoro." She pushed Zoro up to me and I watched her walk away.

"Uh, okay?" I said slightly confused. Then I returned my attention to Zoro. "So, I thought you wouldn't be able to come." I smirked.

He smirked right back. "Yeah, I knew you would miss me, so I skipped the track meet." I punched him lightly and laughed.

"Ha! As if I'd miss you!" I may have been acting like Zoro being there was nothing, but really I was touched. "Wait, you really skipped your track meet?" I asked, really curious to see if he did.

"Yup." He said plainly.

"For me?" I asked, with pretend shock on my face. He knew I was kidding when I suddenly smiled.

"Ha, in your dreams, bookworm." He scoffed then looked at me. "You see, one of my relay members pulled his hammy. I had other events, but I decided those weren't as... important as this one." He coughed to clear his throat.

Okay, Zoro was being too sweet. Usually, I would have had my suspicions, but it was a good day so far and Zoro being here just made everything better!

"Awwwh, Zoro you do care!" I pretended to sound touched in a cheesy way. "But, in all seriousness... I'm really glad you came." I mumbled.

"What was that? I didn't hear you? Could you speak louder?" He teased.

I huffed. "You know what I said, jerk!" He laughed at me, but I didn't care. I laughed with him. Then it was silence. Awkward silence.

"So, uh, I'll be going back to the bleachers..." He said slowly.

"Okay. Bye!" I said. He turned around to leave, but then turned around again to look at me. He walked up to me and held his arms open. I looked up at him confused and at the same time amused. "What's this, Zoro?" I questioned him.

He turned his head to the side so he could avoid eye contact with me. "Can't I give my best friend a hug?" And with that said, he faced me and smirked. I smiled and walked into his waiting arms.

Zoro was acting strange that night, but I didn't think about it too much at the time. Mostly because while I was in Zoro's arms, I could only think about someone else's embrace. That someone being Luffy.

* * *

**Yay, sixth chapter is up! Next chapter is going to be Part III.**

**Once again, sorry about my lack of knowledge in the art of Judo and anything that relates to it. **

**In this story, I was just thinking of how the World Tournament in Dragon Ball Z was laid out... Yup.**

**I hope some people got the Fairy Tail reference with Erza!**

**I couldn't think of any other strong girl characters within One Piece because it was already 1am when I typed this up last night, so that's how she's in here.**

**Sorry to those grammar nazis who have a problem with my typos and stuff.**

**I don't really edit my chapters because I try to publish them right after I finish typing them. Some times I'm able to read over it once.**

**So, why was Zoro acting so sweet? Do you think Nami's feelings toward Luffy are returned? Will their relationship continue to bloom in the next chapter... Or will it start to wilt?**

**Dun dun dunnnn!**


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